


New York Bound

by outlawed_to_the_stars



Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Brooklyn, London newsies, Manhattan, Newsies - Freeform, roger the cryptid newsie - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:07:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24292582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outlawed_to_the_stars/pseuds/outlawed_to_the_stars
Summary: Caitlin Barnes is your typical London Newsie. Known as Cat, Caitlin is the co-leader of the Mayfair London Newsies, until all that changes and she finds herself on a ship that is New York bound. Who knows what will happen when she gets there and who knows who she'll encounter...Warnings for strong language, descriptions of abuse and violence and death
Kudos: 3





	1. Information - Read this first

**This is just a little bit of information that you will need to know for some things in the story to make sense.**

\- The first few chapters are set in London

\- Two of the New York newsies will feature in the story - Tommy Boy and Smalls

\- Smalls is female

**Some words you might need to know**

\- Bobby(ies)/Peelers/Coppers - Police

\- Workhouse - Like the refuge, but for everyone and you have to work

**Boroughs and Locations - Equivalents**

\- Mayfair/Westminster - Manhattan

\- Lambeth - Brooklyn

\- Camden - The Bronx

\- Bromley - Queens

Westminster, Lambeth, Camden and Bromley are all London boroughs.

**Other**

\- To keep it easy for everyone (including me), the money system will stick to pounds (£) and pence (p) while in London. The Victorian money system was incredibly complicated, so I'm sticking to that. 

\- Any new words/slang words used in the chapter will go in the **New Words** section of the **Notes**

\- Any trigger warnings will be in the Triggers section of the A/N

\- On the topic of triggers, **Chapter 6 and 7 are very triggering.** All of the triggers will be listed before the main body of the chapter, but reader discretion is advised

**All characters (excepts the New York Newsies, Tommy Boy and Smalls) belong to me**

**If I miss any triggers, don't hesitate to tell me**

**Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention it in the information section, but the story starts in April 1899.
> 
> TW: Relatively mild swearing, one punch, implication of blood

"Come on guys! Wake up and get a move on! Those papers ain't gonna sell themselves!" I shout over the noise of the busy London streets below. It's only half-past seven but some people, like the blacksmiths, maids and landlords, have been up for at least an hour; and these lazy newsies are still asleep! It had been rainin' last night, so there were some puddles on the roads and pavements and the cold wind was blowin'. It blew a few stray paper bags from the shops down the street. It was only just light outside, but it's April, so what's new...

I hear a few people stirrin' from their sleep.

"Aye! Lucky! Ya should be up by now. I can't run this place all by myself!" I twist around from the window and call over to the girl that helps me run the Westminster Newsies. She's barely awake!

I saunter over to my boyfriends' bed and try and shake him awake. We both laugh as he waves his arms around blindly tryin' to shove me away.

"Come on Tommy! Get ya lazy arse up!" I shove him playfully, and he almost fell off the bed, but he grabbed onto my hand and pulled me, so I was lyin' next to him. He put his arm around me and I almost forgot about sellin' papers...

"Mornin'." He said quietly, while tracin' the outline of the small birthmark next to my left eye. He was really warm, and it was a nice change from the freezin' cold of the lodgin' house. His cute Aussie accent came through a lot in the mornin', and sometimes he would make it really thick and I would try and guess what the hell he was sayin'! Yeah, I love him with all my heart.

"Mornin'," I said back. We ended up starin' into each other's eyes. I love his eyes, amazin' deep brown; they were like the fancy chocolate that ya see in shop windows in the rich part of the city.

"For Christs' sake, get a room! So much for wake up and get a move on, ey' Cat!" Our little moment was interrupted by none other than Lucky. I turn my head around and see her pickin' up her dice that she always takes around with her, ya know, just in case she gets tied up in another gamblin' game...again...

"Right! This is payback for all the times I have to listen to ya and Smalls swoonin' over each other!" I reply, flashin' her a cocky grin.

'Scuse my manners, I should introduce myself. My name is Caitlin. Caitlin Barnes to be precise, but I go by Cat. I am 15 and I live in Westminster Borough, London. I am one of the two leaders of the Newsies here; the other leader is a girl called Lucky. Our lodgin' house is in Westminster City, which is quite near the borders of Lambeth and Camden; and it is a mess, I mean, there are clothes, shoes and caps everywhere! If ya borough rankin' was based on how tidy ya lodgin' house is, we would be right at the bottom!

The boroughs are ranked by one thing and one thing only. It's not how many people there are in ya borough and it's not how tidy ya Lodgin' House is. Thank god! It's by how much money ya make every month, and we make a fair amount. Mikey, the Polish kid, is the resident maths genius and he always adds up all our money every night.

Westminster is actually one of the smallest boroughs in London, but we all look after each other. Turf wars are a nightmare! Ya can usually tell which boroughs are run by boys because they are the quickest to get into fights; whereas the boroughs run by girls, like Camden, City and obviously here, are more diplomatic and don't want to get anyone killed! Although Angel's Bromley ain't on my list of allies...and that system ain't always correct.

We always think of the famous Spot Conlon and Jack Kelly when we need to defend ourselves. Sorry, I'm probably borin' ya with this, they probably don't know it, but they're famous over here!

There's a kid named Roger who was sent over here by his aunt in New York, he's from Brooklyn and he told us all about Spot Conlon, his borough leader, and Jack Kelly, the leader of a borough called Manhattan. He called them the best leaders their side of the pond!

Anyways, after we were rudely interrupted by my co-leader, Tommy Boy released me from his warm, tight hug, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and we both got out of his bed.

I walked away from him while he chatted to Albie, one of the few people who actually live with their parents, but he was doin' stuff, so they let him stay here for the night. Mikey was stuff.

Yeah...

I made it over to Elise and Adelaide's beds. Those girls came over from France, just like my father, but they don't speak any English.

Luckily, my father did. So, he taught me and my mother, I tried to learn, but I don't have the right head for it, my brain prefers English and reading things in English. I only know a few basic phrases. Seams knows French though. She's the only one who can talk to them with any certainty of what they're sayin'!

"Tres bien mesdames! Il est temps de porter la banniere!" I said to them I saw someone, Red I think, glance over at them. They're new and I don't think they knew what Seams said!

That means "Alright ladies! Time to carry the banner!" by the way! Meanin', time to get up and sell the papers before it's too late! It's pretty much the only phrase I know for sure.

I chatted for a bit with Chase and how he flirted with his girlfriend last night! I know that doesn't sound very interestin', but he was either drunk or just really tired, but when he asked if she was single, he cried! It was way funnier if ya was there...

The two of us laughed for a bit. He went red and smiled, embarrassed. I left him to get dressed and walked back to my bed, clappin' him on the back as I went! I weaved my way back to my bed and kissed Tommy as I passed him.

I got my clothes out of my bedside drawer and laid them out on my bed, pushin' my recently-finished book aside. I put my bra on backwards, then twisted it around under my shirt. I pulled the straps up and took my nightshirt off.

Tommy Boy looked up and blushed when he saw me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye and grinned back at him.

"Whattaya got for me today babe?"

"Alright! Uhhhh...try and guess what this means!" There's this thing Tommy and I do every mornin'. He tells me some Aussie slang and I have to guess what the hell he means, and then I say somethin' in French and he tries to guess what I mean.

I looked over at him from where I was changin' into my day clothes.

"What are daks?" He said, with a cute little smirk.

"Ya what?" I laughed. I had absolutely no idea what he meant by 'Daks'. I love this idiot!

"Y'know! Daks! Ya wearin' 'em right now!" I stood there, lookin' down at myself. I was standin' next to my bed in my bra and trousers.

"Does it mean trousers?" It sounded ridiculous! I bent down and grabbed my blue and off-white striped undershirt and pulled it on as he replied.

"Yup! Well done! Ya gettin' betta at guessin'! That was an easy one though..." He grinned at the last bit.

"Right," I decided I was gonna give him a hard one. I clapped my hands together, rubbed them together and stuck my tongue out a bit while I thought of my plan. "Got it! Journaux. Take a crack at that!"

I pulled my mother's old red and grey shirt on and laughed at the look of complete confusion on his face. It was adorable, and he started laughin' with me. I gave him some time to think while I did up the buttons and put my black waistcoat, socks and shoes on as fast as I could. I had to time this perfectly.

The laces of my brown work boots were still undone when I walked over to him, wrapped my arms around his neck and looked up at him. God, I hope I timed this right!

_Ding! Ding! Ding!_ YES!!!

"It means newspapers!" I said as the distribution bell rang out! I kissed him quickly and left him to get dressed. He was still shirtless and had only managed to put his trousers, socks and shoes on! Whereas I was fully dressed if ya don't count my hat.

I grabbed my hat off the end of my bed and yelled out to my newsies.

"Come on guys! Carry the banner!" I yelled out to everyone. They went thunderin' down the stairs. Most of 'em went two at a time and I'm really surprised that someone doesn't die or get really hurt every day!

"Ey! CAT?" I heard someone yell from the doorway to the stairs. I turned around to see who it was.

"Yeah, Fletch?" That's Fletcher. No one really knows where he came from, but we soon found out that he's wicked strong. Like, unnaturally strong, we had a bit of a situation and we needed to clear the main room. Fletcher just came up and lifted up a chair, Patch was still sittin' on it! And he just lifted it up like it was nothin'! Boy, crutch and all!

"What day is it?" His head bobbed up and down as he jumped to see over the few remainin' people.

"Uhhh...Tuesday 25th." I said just as everyone else made it out the door and down the stairs, Fletcher nodded to me, turned and ran down the stairs. I turned back to Tommy and we chuckled a bit about his slightly strange question, but we shrugged it off soon enough.

Once everyone was out, it was just me and Tommy. I bent down and did my shoes up and put my hat on and let my hair hang down. It fell past my waist and there was so much of it, I could rarely fit all of it in my hat!

"C'mon! Ya nearly ready?" I wandered over to the door leadin' to the landin' and the stairs down to the ground floor. The dormitories of the 'Mayfair Lodging House' - and every other lodgin' house, for that matter - were on the 2nd floor. The middle floor had the kitchens, but we don't use that much, and the near-permanently locked storeroom.

The storerooms were only to be unlocked in an emergency, and only the leaders of the boroughs had the key. Now, I have a feelin' about what ya goin' to say...But Mayfair has two leaders!? That's definitely true, but if a borough has two leaders, the first to actually become leader gets the key.

And that would be me. I was made leader when I was 12 because of some emergency from the old leader, Note; then when I was 14, last year, I "promoted" Lucky to become my co-leader. I always keep the key on a long black ribbon around my neck and tucked into my bra. I even sleep with it on because Angel snuck in and almost stole it from my bedside table. From then on, I kept it on at all times. No one that lives in the Lodging House has seen the inside of it...I don't even know if it's ever been opened before and the many times I've looked under the door, all I could see was darkness and dust...

I stood there thinkin' and waitin' for Tommy to finish tyin' his shoelaces up and grab his hat before he ran over to me. I thought he would stop next to me like he did every other day...but I guess every other day we haven't been this late. So instead, he planted a quick kiss on my lips and bolted down the stairs!

"Race ya to the gates!" He called out.

"Hey! Ya got a head start!" I yelled after him, jumpin' down the stairs two at a time. He bolted out the door and closed it after him!

"Really!?" I said, laughin' under my breath. I opened the door quickly and then slammed it shut and ran after him.

Now, what he didn't take into account, was that I was one of the fastest runners in all of the Westminster Newsies, but he knew he was always faster. I guess he just wanted to let me win...for once!

We got to the Distribution Gates with about five seconds to spare before they locked up! The Jordan Brothers were just about to lock the gates when we got right up to them and I stuck my arm through the gap between the rapidly closin' iron gates.

"Oi! Dan! Joey! 100 each!" Tommy yelled. Dan opened the gates reluctantly.

"Why was you two late?" That was Mr Fink. He is a literal weasel. He's the Jordan Brother's uncle and he is the paper distributor for Westminster. Despite bein' a complete arsehole, he's a fat man, he always looks like he's got a permanent hangover and he has a face a potato would be proud of. But 'e can throw a hard punch...

He sneered at us as we walked up the slope to the hatch.

"None o' ya business, Fink." I retorted.

"It's Mister Fink to ya." He slammed his hand down of the countertop. 

He wanted money.

I slammed my 50 pence piece with just as much force as he slammed his hand down. The price of the papers is two for a penny. So, its 50 pence for 100 papers. Most of the time it's an alright price, but if it's cold, or windy, or rainin'...then not so much. Fuck it! It's England! It's like that most of the time! Our Septembers are usually pretty good though...

I laughed under my breath and took my papers once he put them on the countertop.

"What's so funny? Huh?" Dan Jordan grabbed onto my arm as I jumped down from the platform at the top of the slope; he was standin' near the raised platform, but on the floor instead of the ramp.

"Oh, nothin'!" I replied sarcastically, fakin' innocence.

"Don't believe ya!" His grip on my arm tightened.

"Get offa me, Dan." I gave him my death-stare, full of anger and hate. I wouldn't let him bully us. He didn't loosen his grip at all. I clenched my fist, preparin' for a fight. I wasn't scared to fight the Jordan Brothers! They might be a few years older than us, but I know Tommy and I can take 'em.

Then he said somethin' that would've scared me shitless a few years ago...

"The Foreman says hello." My stare wavered and I looked down for a second, before raisin' my head again and death-stared him again. I was tryin' to form a plan of attack that wouldn't end up in either or both of us endin' up dead in an alleyway in the East End.

By that time, Fink had given Tommy Boy his papers, and he managed to get behind Joey without gettin' punched. Tommy grabbed Dan's left shoulder with his right hand and tore him away from me, his hand comin' away from my arm.

Tommy threw him to the ground and punched him hard in the face. The punch drew blood and Joey looked even more pissed off than usual.

"Run Cat!" He yelled. I was lookin' around for Joey and Fink, but a massive stack of papers had fallen, or had been pushed, in front of the door they had to get through to get to us. Joey and Fink were swearin' at us through the barred window of the door.

"Run!" I looked back at Tommy and Dan. Dan had a small cut on his face and Tommy was sprintin' towards me, his 100 papers still under his left arm. I still had mine and he grabbed the arm that wasn't supportin' the papers and tugged me out of the distribution square.

I locked the gates and we ran away from them as fast as we could, down slippery streets and across rain-soaked roads, until we collapsed out of breath with laughter on the wet, cold grass of the Victoria Tower Gardens, near my sellin' spot; I swear I didn't plan it this time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used Google Translate for the french bit, so I'm sorry if it's inaccurate. Please leave kudos and comment! Have a great day!


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Words: Toff - rich person (usually disliked by the newsies), peelers/bobbies - police, hawk - sell
> 
> TW: Swearing, stealing, somewhat graphic descriptions of violence

"C'mon Cat! Let's get outta here!" Tommy shouted over to me from a little way down the street. I slammed the gates shut and threaded the thick chain through the bars. 

"Have fun with that Dan!" I said sarcastically; lockin' the heavy padlock with a hairpin I found in the Lodging House, I smirked at him. It's the least I could do since they seem hell-bent on makin' my newsies' lives miserable...

He scowled and slammed his hands on the bars, they shook loudly and a few drops of water fell on him. 

I laughed at him as I turned on my heels and we ran as fast as we dared down the cobbled streets and through the Saturday markets. We dodged through crowds and through street vendors.

"Cat! Peeler!" I heard Tommy shout from a little way in front of me. I looked to where I heard his voice, and sure enough, Officer Wilson was doin' his rounds of the market. I had about a second before he saw me.

I ducked down and crawled under a stall. I felt the water from the puddle under me soak into my trousers at the knees. Great, those will be dry by next week...

That man has arrested me more times than I can remember, but I've only ever been taken to jail once. He had a very long-standin' grudge against my parents and for some reason, he took it up with me when they...

Anyways, he takes it out on my by findin' stupid reasons to arrest me! But they've never found a legitimate reason to send me to jail, well other than that first time...So most of the times I just get fined and sent on my way. It's annoyin' at best, downright fucked up at worst. Oh well!

"Oi kid! Get out from under there! Before I get the peelers on ya!" The stall owner kicked and hissed at me. I scrabbled past her feet to get out from under the stall and I dragged my papers with me.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw who kicked me.

"Ya wouldn't get the bobbies on me would ya, Miss Hannah?" I flashed her a smile as I got to my feet and brushed myself off. She laughed, shook her head and put a hand on her chest.

"Oh Cat! Ya didn't half give me a turn kid! I'm so sorry for kickin' ya hon!" She gave me a quick once-over to check that I was ok, then patted me on the shoulder.

Miss Hannah owns a fresh fruit and veg stall in the Saturday markets. She's been there for as long as I can remember and she looked after me for a bit, when I was homeless for a few weeks. I was much younger then and I couldn't fend for myself.

She's a large woman, she wears a simple, slightly dirty brown dress with a faded reddish-brown shawl coverin' her shoulders and chest. Her mousey brown hair was always loose around her shoulders and she always keeps a strip of red cloth tied in a bow around her right wrist, no one really knows why...

She's more like my mother that I remember my real mother to be after...that... Anyways, we always look after each other and I owe her my life since she saved mine.

"Miss Hannah! I'm fine! I'm fine! But I appreciate your concern." We laughed and hugged quickly. She turned back to her stall as she heard a small boy clear his throat impatiently to get her attention. Disrespectful little shit! I was about to put that kid in his place, but Miss Hannah put the back of her hand on my chest firmly to stop me. She turned to the boy, he was a bloody toff too!

"So, who ya hidin' from ey Cat?" She asked, handin' change over to the small boy. 

"No one!" I said, placin' my hand over my heart and fakin' offence. "Me and Tommy Boy just pissed off the Jordan brothers and I need to sell my papers." I held up my stack.

"What's the headline today?" She asked, I lifted my papers up and checked out the front page.

"Fire in Tower Hamlets kills 17 people."

"That's awful!" Miss Hannah asked, searchin' through the small sack of money on her table.

Us newsies very rarely shouted headlines that were actually true, but when there's somethin' vaguely interesting, we exploit it like hell. We just work with what the publishers give us...But today was one of the rare occasions where they actually gave us somethin' good. 

"That's where my old man is. I'll take one. Here." Miss Hannah's father, Old Man Maguire, lives in Tower Hamlets and she sends his money to help him get along. She handed me a three pence piece she got from the bag and I handed it straight back to her. She can't afford to spare 3p. She just shoved it back in my hand and took a paper.

"No refunds." Miss Hannah chuckled and I put the coin in my pocket.

"Fine...but that's what I'm supposed to say!" I said. She shook her head and served another customer.

While Miss Hannah was occupied, I looked around to try and find Tommy. I couldn't see him anywhere, then he came runnin' up behind me clutchin' the string around his papers.

"There ya are! I couldn't find ya! I thought Wilson had ya for a sec!" He bear-hugged me and kissed me on the cheek.

"G'mornin' Miss Hannah!" He reached out, held her hand and kissed the back of it. Miss Hannah and I laughed at him, Tommy has always been a gentleman, a very lovable gentleman, unlike the bloody toffs...

"Good mornin' Tommy Boy!" She replied with a smile. "Right...you two'd better start sellin' ya papers!"

"Oh yeah...! Thanks for the threepence piece Miss Hannah, and we'd love to stay and chat, but ya right, we gotta go." I looked around and saw that Officer Wilson was comin' much closer now. I also saw Smalls on the other side of the market, I nodded to her and gave her a look.

She got the message. She ran up to him and offered him a paper. She was buyin' us time to get outta there, also this is her sellin' spot and it's not right to steal someone's spot. It's also against the rules of our Lodgin' House.

But everyone knows Miss Hannah is like my mother and she's the exception to the whole sellin' spot thing!

I looked over at where Smalls was annoyin' Officer Wilson. She had almost annoyed him enough for him to bugger off! After another minute or so, Wilson threatened to arrest Smalls and he turned around and walked away. He looked so pissed off! Success!

With Wilson gone, the coast was clear and we could make our escape. I have Miss Hannah a quick hug and we ran off back through the market. 

We ran past a bakery stall on our way through and as we did, Tommy stole a couple of bread rolls. I glanced back at the stall owner to just make sure he didn't see Tommy Boy steal the bread.

I'm pretty sure he didn't and I couldn't hear any shouts, although the market is usually very loud with all the people hagglin' for the best price!

We got clear of the market and we were out in the street. We stopped runnin' and Tommy held up the rolls proudly.

He had that grin on his face that always made me remember why I loved him. Even when he stole things...

"Really!?" I laughed and he grinned back.

"Have you eaten yet today?" He asked. I couldn't tell whether it was sarcasm or genuine concern in his voice...so I went with both!

"No..." I rolled my eyes and took one out of his hand. I didn't think stealin' was right...but I couldn't argue with it in certain situations. I haven't stolen anythin' since I was seven, that's when I became a Newsie, and even now I still don't encourage it...

We bit into the rolls at the same time and Tommy winked at me. I rolled my eyes and smiled.

The rolls had small seeds in them and they were still fresh, sweet and hot! We ate them quickly and out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone come round the corner of the bank. I turned my head subtly and saw someone else come round the corner.

"Tommy..." I whispered. "Who's comin' round the corner behind me...?" I was worried that they might be people linked to my parents. Or they could just be a couple of thieves who didn't know the market had better targets...You could never be too careful, especially with fewer people around...

Tommy looked over my shoulder as discreetly as he could.

"I'm not sure..." He whispered back. "We should go, just to be safe..." I nodded and shifted my papers to my right arm. I held Tommy's hand and we crossed the street, bein' careful to not get hit by motorcars and horse-drawn carriages as we went.

**~ Meanwhile ~**

If anyone who actually cared had been around the back alleys of Lambeth, they would've heard the angry shouts of three men as they punched, kicked and fought tooth and nail.

"Get the fuck offa me, Joey! Switch will hear about this you vicious two-faced pricks!" The boy yelled, his American accent coming through strong.

"Oh, do you hear that Dan? Switch will hear of this!" The man turned to his brother, and after a few seconds, they just shrugged in unison.

Both men got uncomfortably close to the beaten and bloody boy, who was in a heap on the floor. His nose had been broken, he was covered in blood and there were cuts and bruises all over his sleeveless arms - and no doubt, the rest of his body. His dirty blond hair flopped in front of his eyes, but he didn't have the energy or strength to flick it away.

"We don't care. We're paid to bring you in and we're gonna bring you in, even if it's the last thing we do...Joey, cuff him. He's finished."

While Joey cuffed the boy, Dan waved his hand into the street and signalled to the van, which was parked a few streets down.

The van drove up and parked up next to the where the fight had taken place, by that time, the boy had been cuffed and was in no fit state to run away.

He was hauled up off the floor and tossed into the back of the van like a sack of potatoes on market day.

"Enjoy the Workhouse, Roger." The doors slammed in his face and the van moved off.

**~ Back in Westminster with Cat and Tommy Boy ~**

"Ayyy! Get outta the bloody road!" An angry carriage driver yelled at us as we crossed the street.

"Ahh, London...The nicest place on earth!" I commented, sarcastically.

We continued weavin' down the streets to our sellin' spots, talkin' about everythin' and nothing. When we got to the Victoria Tower Gardens - next to the River Thames and opposite Lambeth - we hopped over the stupid little fence and stepped right over the 'Do not walk on the grass' sign.

**~ Meanwhile ~**

" Ya fuckin' bastards! Get offa me!" I yelled. I was shoved violently from behind and fell flat on my face. My face was pressed into the pavement hard and Joey Jordan put his foot on my head. I tried to lift my arms to get him off and get meself up, but my hands were cuffed behind me...

I struggled and wriggled on the floor, but all that got me was a strong kick to the face. I felt somethin' in my nose crack and blood come drippin' out. Shit that was painful! But that was almost nothin' compared to what was gonna come.

Joey lifted his foot up from my head and yanked my arms up so I was standin'. He then linked one of his arms in the gap between my back and my arms, that were still cuffed together. He put his other hand on my right shoulder.

Then Dan punched me in the stomach really fast. I swear those guys is boxers or somethin'. Either way, all of the breath was knocked out of me, I tried to double over, but I couldn't cause of Joey holdin' me.

Dan landed another punch on my stomach, then my face, then my stomach again. I coughed a few times and drew in a ragged breath. I tried to call out for help, but I still couldn't breathe.

I squirmed around and tried to free meself again.

"Stop movin'...Or I'll have your guts for garters..." Joey hissed threateningly in my ear. I stopped. I was paralysed with fear. Not with what he said, but by what Dan had just taken out of his pocket...

"Hmmm...which one should I use? The knife?" It glinted threateningly in the sun that managed to get into the alley. "Or the brass knuckles?" He slipped them on his right hand and made a fist. I braced meself.

"Let's save the knife for the murderers' daughter."

"Good idea...then we can really show her a piece of our minds after what she did to us!" Dan got right into my face as he said that.

_Cat! You'se in danger! I pray ya make it out 'live..._

Dan's punches were so much harder and more painful with the brass knuckles on, and when he'd finished with me, I was so weak I could barely stand.

They literally dragged me out into the street and threw me into what I guessed was the back of a van. The last thing I remember was seeing the Workhouse loom ahead of me, going over a pothole in the road and from there on...nothing. Everything was black.

**~ Back with Cat and Tommy Boy ~**

The sun shone down through the leaves on the trees as Tommy and I strolled through the park.

We both kept an eye out for the crabby old park keeper, but his uniform is green - which is really ugly by the way - and he kinda blends into the grass...

"Nice day today, ain't it?" I asked as we sat down under a tree, with our backs against the trunk.

"Yeah...'s beautiful! Just like you..." He leant over and kissed my cheek. I threaded my fingers through his and smiled up at him.

I had sat down further away from the trunk, so I was leanin' down further and I ended up below him; I'm actually half an inch taller than him and I never let him forget it...but I didn't feel like it today...the day was too nice to ruin...

"I love you too." We sighed in unison and sat there, takin' in the views...

Until the peace and quiet of the moment was shattered, when the crabby old park keeper grabbed Tommy's collar and hauled him to his feet.

I stood up quickly, in case the Jordan brothers had chased us this far.

"How many times do I have to tell you kids to keep off the bloody grass?!" He shouted, a few people, mostly rich folk, turned their heads to look over at us.

"Yes...We're very sorry, Mr Walker, it won't happen again, sir..." Tommy said. Mr Walker thought for a while, decidin' whether or not he's gonna trust us...

Eventually, he let go of Tommy's collar.

"Thank you, sir," I said.

"Hmmm, I'd better not catch you two here again." We both nodded.

"You won't sir..." Tommy took a few steps back as the old man turned around and started to make his way back to his favourite bench.

"In your dreams!" I whispered, albeit a bit too loudly. Tommy Boy elbowed me in the side in an attempt to stop me laughing, but it didn't work, and unfortunately, Mr Walker heard me.

He turned back to us, absolutely furious. His face was bright red - he was very easy to piss off - and he glared at us. I stopped laughin' and backed away from him, tuggin' Tommy's arm.

He made a grab for me and Tommy Boy yelled to run.

I turned tail and ran away. I ran through the park, my papers still under my arm. I stopped when I realised Mr Walker had given up chasin' us both and looked around for Tommy Boy.

"Tommy! Tommy!" I called out when I became aware of the fact I couldn't see him anywhere. "Tommy!" I ran over to a large oak tree and suddenly, someone wrapped their arms around my waist from behind. I tensed up, preparin' for the worst.

"Hey, babe!" I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Tommy!" I detached myself and whacked his arm, pretendin' to be angry with him, which almost never happens. I tried to keep a straight face, but I just couldn't and he knew it. 

We both burst out laughin' and we couldn't stop. We laughed and laughed until we practically collapsed on the grass behind the tree, somewhere we didn't think Mr Walker could see us.

"Do you see his bloody face!" I wheezed.

"Redder than a tomato in the sun..." Tommy sighed. I opened my mouth to sat something, then Big Ben across the river tolled 8 times.

"We should go, it's 8 o'clock." 

"Yea, let's go." He took my hand and we made our way back to the pavement on Millbank, makin' sure we didn't run into Mr. Walker.

"Where are you sellin' today? Normal spot?" I asked.

"Yep, I'm goin' by Westminster Abbey." I nodded, checked the street for any traffic and we crossed over.

"I'm goin' over by the docks, so I'm actually goin' the wrong way!" I laughed and Tommy smiled. 

"Ok," We stopped walkin' and stepped closer to the buildin' so we didn't get trampled by busy people rushin' to get to wherever they needed to do...They were also the people we had to sell our papers, so we had better get going!

"Let's split up here, meet you at the café on Romney Street at midday?"

"Yep, noon it is. See you and good sellin'."

"Good sellin'." He smiled and looked at me the way only he does, before plantin' a quick kiss on my cheek and turnin' to walk away. He glanced back at me and I waved his goodbye.

God, I love him. So. Freaking. Much.

I walked back to the docks and began to hawk my papers.

I got up on an empty upside-down wooden produce box surrounded by green bottles.

Dockworkers came up in waves to buy papers and I had to shove some of them offa me when they got a bit drunk and handsy. I also had to move places a couple of times.

I waved over to where Switch was sellin' on his side of the river, over in Lambeth. He didn't wave back, smile or look like he was managin' to sell papers; probably because he had a face o' thunder. 

Then a kid I recognised from Lambeth ran up to me and I jumped down off my box.

"Cat?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's me." I replied, slightly suspiciously.

"Switch has called an emergency ally meetin' in his Lodging House. Now." I gave the kid one of my pennies and he ran off.

_"This can't be good."_ I thought as I made my way over to Lambeth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's quite a bit longer than the previous chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same! Please leave kudos and comment. Have an awesome day!


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys are enjoying the story!
> 
> New Words: Spike - Slang for Workhouse, Leeries - Streetlamp lighters, High-tail - run
> 
> TW: Swearing, Mentions of weapons, Violence

The wind was blowin' surprisingly cold and hard as I walked on the Lambeth Bridge to Switch and our allies. My hair flew up into my face and I attempted to tuck it away with my free hand, but it really didn't work.

"Hey Cat! Hold up!" Someone shouted behind me and I turned to see who it was.

"Hey Lucky," I said as my co-leader slowed down to a walkin' pace. She was slightly out of breath and she still had about 30 papers left, but it's not midday yet, so that's pretty good.

I shivered and pulled my jacket closer around me. I blew some warm air into my hands and rubbed them together as best I could.

"It's too bloody cold for this." Lucky complained, her usual happy demeanour gone.

I could tell she wasn't herself, she was turnin' her dice over and over in her right hand rhythmically; she had a slight frown, and she was bitin' her lip. I've only noticed her do that once, her father was kinda sick - he recovered - but she doesn't even do that in the heat and pressure of a card game.

She must know what's goin' on.

"Do you have any idea why the meetin' was called?"

"The Jordan Brothers have been arrestin' kids and takin' them to the closest spike."

"Oh my god..." I whispered. "So our closest one would be the one in Lambeth. Do you know who's been taken?"

"Roger from Lambeth, Matches and Kowalski from Hackney, Sneaks from City," She took a deep breath. "And Smalls and Ace from us."

"Fuck!" I stopped in the middle of the bridge and some idiot behind us walked into me.

"Oi watch it!" I yelled as he passed by. It was some but and he stuck his middle finger up at me. It's a good thing he didn't start a fight because I had so much anger surgin' through me, I thought I could easily win.

I forced myself to regain control over my emotions, unclenched my jaw and continued walking.

It took us about 10 minutes to get into Lambeth, it was a familiar walk since Switch, Lucky and I have meetings whenever the other boroughs are gettin' antsy. But this time it was different, all of our allies are coming.

I looked away from Lucky and over the river to see Westminster Bridge, the neutral turf between Westminster and Lambeth. I can see Big Ben lookin' out over the city next to Parliament in Westminster Palace. The clock chimed out 10 times and before we know it, we're in Lambeth territory.

**~ Meanwhile ~**

"I'd say business is going pretty well, Mr Foreman, sir." The potato-faced Mr Fink said, clutching his cap in his hands and standing slightly hunched over despite his large frame.

"We've got 6 kids from Lambeth, City, Hackney and Westminster." Dan Jordan spoke up from where he was standing next to his brother near the door of The Foreman's office in the Lambeth Workhouse.

"That's not enough." The Foreman strode imposingly around his grand desk - that was far too expensive for his usual salary.

"My client in New York wants more and is willing to send more money. I want more." After a few moments where no one would dare talk, his eyes lit up maniacally. "I want the Murderers Daughter." He said.

"Her?" Joey stepped forwards in line with Mr Fink. "She's worthless."

"Not to me!" He roared. "She's worth more than your puny little mind can comprehend. She'll fetch me more money than you've seen in your life!" Joey stepped back next to his brother.

"Now go and get me more things to sell!" He demanded, jabbing his finger in between the Jordan Brothers and towards the door behind them.

Joey opened The Foreman's office door and held it open for his brother and his employers. Then he stepped out and they made their way out of the Workhouse and into the city.

**~ Back with Cat and Lucky in Lambeth ~**

The sky had become overcast with clouds and it was spittin' with rain slightly as we trudged off the bridge and into a crowd of Lambeth kids. Lucky and I were immediately surrounded by about 6 or 7 of them, and hangin' back slightly was Blades, Switch's second in command.

We walked through the gap the Lambeth kids left us and towards their Lodgin' House for the meeting.

"A'right Blades." I nodded in his general direction and he nodded at Lucky, but not me. He held a stupid grudge against me because I punched him. Once. He's not one to let things go easily. He's quite short for his age - 16 - but boy, does he ever make up for it in strength and stubbornness.

We had almost reached the door of the Lodgin' House, when Blades stepped in front of us, blockin' the door with his arms folded.

"Blades. Let us go in." Lucky said.

"We're here for the borough meeting." I said.

"Switch don't wanna be seen today." I rolled my eyes.

"Are you thick or something?" I said. Lucky whacked me as Blades reached behind him, probably for the knife he always kept in his waistband.

"Don't you dare Blades..." I gave him a death-stare and he moved his hand back around. If anyone dared fuck with me today, I swear I'd destroy them. I was so angry that my newsies were bein' hurt and that I had no idea. Even worse was I couldn't figure out a way to help them.

"We're here for the borough meetin' that Switch called." I said, as calmly as I could. I was secretly grippin' the string around my remainin' papers as hard as I could and I could feel my fist burning.

Then, the door opened and Switch appeared in the doorway.

"Let them in Blades." The stocky 16-year-old stepped to the side reluctantly and we entered.

I looked around as Switch led us into their main room.

From what I could see, the Lambeth Lodgin' House was really tidy, the exact opposite of ours.

As we walked down the corridor, I could feel the anger and frustration surgin' through me again. I was overthinkin' everythin' so much that I didn't noticed I had clenched my fists, set my jaw and stared straight ahead in an furious trance.

I was immediately broken out of my suptor when Lucky stopped dead in the corridor and grabbed my arm. She stopped me and span me around so I was starin' her straight in the face.

"Cat!"

"What?"

"Calm the hell down!" She shook me around a bit when I looked down to the floor. "You're not gonna be yourself for the meetin' and I need you to be..." She slapped me and my eyes shot up. "There we go...I need you to be aware of what the hell is happening."

"You're right...I'm sorry. I'll keep myself in check more. I'm just----just so fuckin' angry!" I clenched and unclenched my fists, usin' the released tension and pain to keep myself alert and aware.

"I know...I'm angry too, but we can figure a way around this and keep everyone safe and alive."

"Huh...believe me, I'm gonna be doin' everythin' I can to keep everyone alive..."

From the end of the corridor, Switch cleared his throat.

"Sorry to keep you waitin' Switch. We'll be right there." We ran down the corridor and came to a stop in front of the closed door of the main room that was bein' used as the meetin' room.

Switch opened the door and we saw all of our ally leaders sittin' in various places around the room.

Finn and Sonny from Kensington and Chelsea on the worn out sofa; Smokey from Hackney on the windowsill; Oliver Turner from City perchin' on the back of a chair; and Tucker from Hammersmith and Fulham sittin' on a chair like a normal person.

Lucky and I sat down on chairs next to Tucker and Switch began.

"Ok...so, I've called this emergency borough meetin' because there's somethin' bloody well fucked up happenin' to our newsies. The Jordan Brothers have been arrestin' kids and takin' them to the Workhouses." Murmurs arose around the room.

"Roger's gone from me, Matches and Kowalski from Smokey, Ace and Smalls from Cat and Lucky, and Sneaks from Oliver in City." He said, pointin' to all of us as he listed everyone that had been taken.

"That's 6 kids, and there's probably gonna be more. We need to come up with a plan to protect our kids."

Switch finished talkin' and Oliver Turner stood up on his chair.

The 17-year-old spoke. "I say we make new rules concernin' sellin' group sizes." I saw the other kids nodding.

"How about everyone over 14 goes out in 2s; if they're over 10, they go out in 3s; and everyone under 10 has to go out with someone over 13. Does that make sense?" He asked and sat down.

"Yea, but what if our kids ask why there are new rules? What do we say then? Do we tell them or what?" Sonny asked from the sofa.

"I say we don't tell them." Smokey said. I looked up at her from where I was starin' intently at the floor, tryin' to keep my promise to Lucky and keepin' my emotions in check.

"What do you guys say, Cat? Lucky? You two have been strangely quiet..."

I kept quiet, but Lucky spoke up. "Good idea. That way they won't freak out."

"But if we won't tell anyone, they won't know what's goin' on and they won't know how to protect themselves." Finn said.

I spoke up, "But like Lucky said, if we tell them, some of 'em will freak out, some of 'em will refuse to sell - if they're slightly better off that the rest - and others will go out lookin' for trouble." I paused, reachin' down my shirt and fiddlin' with the key on the ribbon around my neck.

"But they're gonna notice people are missing! They're gonna start askin' where they've gone. If we don't tell them, we risk losin' their trust!"

"I say we open our emergency rooms." I said, lookin' up at the rest of the room.

"What?" Tucker said.

"Our emergency rooms. I say we open them."

**~ Time Skip To 7:30pm ~**

"Most people should be back by now, Lucky." I said, lookin' up at where Lucky was sittin' on the table in the main room on the Lodgin' House.

"Fletcher's gonna be late tonight babe." Tommy Boy came into the main room and I jumped up from the sofa to give him a hug. With everythin' that's happening, I could really use a good hug. I don't know what I would do if he got taken away...I didn't want to know...

"Is he with his girlfriend?" Lucky called over.

"Yea..." He replied, before plantin' a kiss on my cheek. "How was sellin' today? I heard a meetin' got called..."

"Oh..." I released myself from the hug. "Yea...about that...Can you get everyone down from the dorms on the right side? I'll get them down from the left dorm...Lucky and I have an announcement..." I took a deep breath and Tommy and I got everyone down from the dorms.

A few minutes later and almost everyone was crowded into the main room, everyone that was out of the Workhouses at least...

"Hey Cat, Lucky, what's this about?" Chase stood up on the table and called over to us at the front of the room.

"If you give us a second we might tell you!" I raised my eyebrows and he sat down. He looked really guilty and I felt so bad for makin' him upset. He's only 13...

"Ok...so..." Lucky turned her dice over in her hand and took a deep breath, steelin' herself for what was gonna happen next. "As you may have noticed, there's a disturbance in the city...This disturbance has forced us and our allies to make certain decisions...Take certain measures to protect you all..."

"You might have also heard things from other boroughs. We know what's goin' on and we don't want you to panic, or worse: go out searchin' for trouble..." I continued.

"To cut a long story short, we're openin' our emergency room." Lucky said. I took my ribbon and key off and Robin stood up.

"Why won't you tell us what's goin' on? What are you hiding?" She asked. Murmurs arose.

"We're not tellin' you to make sure you don't do anythin' stupid and go out lookin' for blood. Ok? Good." She sat down when I stared at her. I was in no mood to be argued with and if I'm honest, I didn't have the energy.

"Let's just get this over with..." I made my way through the crowd, tryin' to keep my head up despite the fact I could feel everyone's eyes on me, all of them silently judgin'.

I ran up the stairs two at a time and put the key in the lock. I waited for Lucky to get there, then I turned the key.

The lock was rusty and it was clear it hadn't been opened in a long time.

I opened the creaky door and peered inside through the dust. I went in, not waitin' for any response, and immediately choked on what felt like a mountain of dust.

Once I waved it away enough to breathe and see clearly, I looked around the room.

I saw blankets, candles, matches and books, all covered in a thick layer of dust. I saw tins and jars of food and bags of what I imagined to be coins. I also saw knives, brass knuckles and bits of rope. Why we would need rope I have no idea, but it's an emergency room, so I don't know what I expected...

Lucky came into the room and stood beside me.

"So...this is the emergency room..."

**~ Time Skip To 10:15pm ~**

I lay there next to her, one arm around her shoulders. We were lyin' there in our underwear and she was gently strokin' my chest.

The bed was so warm and I really didn't want to go back to the Lodgin' House but I had to, Cat and Lucky get worried if we're not back by half 10; it's one of the Lodgin' House rules actually.

Sometimes I can get away with quarter to 11, but it still gets dark quite early and I didn't want to run into any trouble...I sighed softly and looked at my girlfriend.

She's the most beautiful girl in the world and I'm a completely hopeless romantic when I'm around her.

"Babe..." I said quietly. She lifted her head and looked at me tiredly. "I gotta go back to the Lodgin' House. I'm sorry."

She pouted slightly. "Aww...why?" She asked. "Why can't you just stay here, with me?" I never liked leavin' her, she's my whole world.

"My leaders are gonna get antsy..." She looked away from me, turnin' her head towards the ceiling.

I reached over and gently turned her head to face me.

"I love you, Alice Mitchell. You know that, right?" I said, after kissin' her cheek.

"I love you too Fletcher Hayes." We lay there in silence for a minute, then she let out a small laugh. "I actually have to get up now too!"

"Do you have the night shift at the hospital?" She nodded as I got out of her bed and walked around to her side. She kicked the blankets off and I scooped her up out of bed as easily as if she was a stack of papers.

She kissed me tenderly. I span around a bit and we ended up laughin' uncontrollably when I plonked myself down on the end of her bed.

"I love it when you do that!"

"I know...Just for you." I let her out of my embrace and we shared another short kiss before gettin' dressed, me in my normal clothes I'd come in and her in her nurse uniform.

I walked her down the stairs to the front door of the buildin' and we said our goodbyes, but I had somethin' on my mind.

"Hey sugar...could you meet me in Hyde Park at midday tomorrow?"

"Of course baby! Is it a special occasion?"

"I...I've got a surprise for you!"

"I'll be there! Love you! See you tomorrow."

I could almost hear the freezin' cold wind whistlin' through the empty streets.

"Hey Bert, Angus." I said, tippin' my cap at the two leeries lightin' the lamps to fight off the darkness. They touched their caps in return.

I passed them and a few minutes later I was into a part of the city where the lamps hadn't been lit yet. This must be the very last place in the city to be lit up!

There was only the moonlight peekin' out from behind the clouds. I pulled my jacket tighter around me and blew warm air into my cupped hands.

I glanced up at the clock on the front of the schoolhouse. Half past 10. I hadn't realised it was so late...Time flies!

My mind wandered as I continued down the street. I couldn't see anyone around, so I let my guard down.

Very bad idea.

At first, I thought nothin' of it. A van I thought was from the docks or one of the factories passed me goin' in the opposite direction and two men jumped out of the cloth flaps at the back, one wearin' a bowler hat, the other one not.

Nothin' too bad, I thought, then they crossed the street and followed me. They weren't 20 paces away.

I sped up a bit and they stayed behind me. I had a bad feelin' about all of this, but if I ran I would just draw more attention to myself, so I forced myself to keep walkin and not just bolt.

I should've run...

The two men sped up more and broke into a sprint.

Before I could high-tail it outta there, one of the men clamped their hands over my mouth and forced me over to a high brick wall.

The rough brick scratched my back through my clothes and I felt a sharp punch to the right side of my head. I saw stars and lost my balance for a minute. It was all so fast, it didn't even matter how strong I was...

One of the men, the one without the hat, kicked my leg out from underneath me and I fell to one knee.

I closed my eyes and tried to get by vision and balance back, but before I could, another hard kick to my head knocked me off balance entirely and I collapsed in a heap at the base of the wall.

I was gradually losin' consciousness when the man with the hat crouched down in front of me and laughed.

Breathin' heavily, I attempted to throw a punch in his face, but I missed and all I managed to do was knock his hat off.

He slowly turned his head to look at where his hat had fallen on the pavement. It was covered in somethin' that looked like dog shit...

He turned back and glared at me. He gave me a full-on death stare that looked like he'd stolen it from Cat. Then I realised who it was.

He punched me again and as he did, I only had three words in my head.

The Jordan Brothers.

Then, nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you thought about this chapter in the comments, and please leave kudos! Have a stellar day!


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything pretty much goes to shit in this chapter...
> 
> TW: Physical abuse, swearing, head injury

"Cat! Cat! Wake up!" I opened my eyes slowly and propped myself up on my elbows as I wiped some sleep away.

"Wha---What's up?" I asked, bleary-eyed.

"Fletcher didn't come back last night."

"Shit!" I bolted upright and whacked my head on the bottom of the bunk above me. I held my head and swing my legs down off the bed. "What happened to him?"

"No one knows! I've asked around, but no one can figure out where he is!" I hunched over - still holdin' my head - and leaned on my knees while sittin' on the bed, Tommy Boy sat down next to me.

"Shit...shit...shit!" I whispered. The Jordan Brothers must have him. "Ok...shit!" I said out loud.

"What?" He asked, his face lined with worry.

"Nothing...I'm just worried. I need to make sure he's alright..." Tommy lifted his arms and wrapped them around my shoulders. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my head where I whacked it. I could feel a bruise formin' and I was grateful that Tommy kissed it gently.

"I get it...He's probably still at Alice's place...He'll be ok, it's Fletch..."

"Yeah...He'll be fine..." I reassured myself, but it was just for show...I knew what was really goin' on, but I couldn't bring myself to tell him what was really happening...

"Ok...I'm gonna go get dressed, then we can go out selling..."

"Oh remember the new rule...Can you remind people about the new sellin' groups? Thank you, baby..." He nodded and stood up. He walked back to his bunk and got dressed, remindin' people as he went.

A couple of people rolled their eyes but didn't make a stink about it.

Thank god...

I stood up and pulled my clothes and shoes out from under my bed. I brushed the thin layer of dust off them and got dressed slowly. I wasn't in the right frame of mind for anythin' today. I couldn't even start my new book last night, I just couldn't focus on it at all...

I tied up my shoelaces and waited for the distribution bell to ring.

"Hey Cat..." Lucky came up to me.

"Hey Lucky. You sleep alright? How you farin' without Smalls...?" I asked.

"I...I don't know...I'm kinda alright I guess..." She trailed off and we stood around awkwardly. Then the bell rang.

Saved by the bell. 

Everyone made their way down the stairs, but no one laughed, or shouted, no one talked above a whisper...Everyone could tell somethin' was wrong. 

There was uncertainty laced with anxious tension in the air.

I was the last out the Lodging House and I closed the door behind me. I turned around to see Robin, Lucky and Tommy Boy waitin' for me.

"You didn't have to wait for me guys," I said.

"Are you ok?" Tommy Boy asked.

"Yeah, my head just hurts is all..." I replied. That wasn't the full reason, but I didn't want to go into it...

"Maybe you should stay here for today, you don't look too good." He suggested.

"I said I'm fine." I snapped. I immediately regretted it. His face changed. His eyes softened and he lowed his hands. His shoulders slumped and he sighed slightly.

"I---I'm sorry Tommy. I...I'm just not with it today..." He nodded. "I'm sorry," I said as he walked off.

"Shit!" I muttered again. I ran and caught up with him. 

"Tommy!" I grabbed his shoulders and make his turn to face me. I didn't let go when he tried to walk away from me again. "Look, I'm sorry."

He rolled his eyes. "You say that a lot Cat. But are you really sorry?"

"Yes! I am! I'm so sorry." I let go of his shoulders and he didn't walk away. "I'm just stressed. There's some shit goin' on with our allies and the Jordan Brothers and Mr Fink and The Foreman and the Workhouses. And my period started last night and I hit my head and I think I'm gonna throw up and I'm so sorry that I snapped at you but---"

"Wait what?"

"What?"

"You said there's shit happenin' with the Workhouses..."

"Oh...yeah...I...didn't mean to say anything..."

"Tell me. What's goin' on Cat?"

I yanked my hat off my head and stuffed it into my trouser pocket. I raked my hands through my hair and blew air out through my cheeks in one long breath. My stomach was full of spiders and it really didn't help my sick feeling. My hands shook slightly, but I couldn't understand why...

"Ok...ok, ok, ok," When I lowered my hands to my sides, he took them in his and squeezed them. It grounded me and kept me from havin' a full-blown panic attack.

"Ok...the Jordan Brothers, Mr Fink, The Foreman and the Workhouses have been arrestin' kids and lockin' them up. None of them have been able to get out and no one knows why."

"Fuck...That...is...really not good." He said. His breathin' got faster, but not out of control. He was still panickin' slightly and this time it was me squeezin' his hands to keep him grounded.

"That can't be legal..."

"Nothin' those bastards do is legal."

"So that's why we have the new rules, and why you opened the emergency room..."

I nodded. "Yeah, I also told everyone to take somethin' to defend themselves. Some of the older guys took knives and brass knuckles. They also sorted out their sellin' groups and I'm pretty sure everyone hates me now." I took one of my hands away, checked that I had my knife in my waistband, and put it back in its place holdin' Tommy's free hand.

"That's not true."

"Really?"

He didn't answer. I clenched my jaw and nodded, turnin' away slightly. 

"Exactly." 

"Well, I don't hate you. I couldn't love you more."

"I love you too." I let go of one of his hands and we walked to the distribution gates. I thought we were goin' to be really late, and we were, but no one was buyin' their papers anyways...

"Hey Cat! Get over here!" I heard someone shout from across the distribution square. 

I let go of Tommy's hand and ran over. "Hey Lucky. What's up? Why's no one gettin' their papers?" 

"The Jordan Brother's ain't there." She pointed up to the window and I turned around to get a proper look.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"I don't know...I don't wanna know..." I turned back around.

"Fink ain't there either."

"Shit..." I took a deep breath in. "Well, we gotta get out papers either way."

"Ok." I walked back to Tommy Boy and Lucky yelled across the square. "Ok guys! Let's just get our papers and get the hell outta here."

**~ Meanwhile at the Lambeth Workhouse ~**

The Foreman placed his thick, scarred forearms on his ornate desk, his fingers interlaced in front of him and his back straightened. His shoulders set and he had a dangerous air about him. 

Despite the confident façade, his left foot tapped so quickly it almost sent vibrations through the wood flooring. 

He stared straight ahead at the 3 men cowering before him. His jaw clenched, his eyes hard. 

"We've paid the substitute distributors for such short notice." 

"Yeah, it came out of my salary..." Joey mumbled. His older brother stamped on his foot for talking out of turn and he looked back down at the floor, staring intensely at a nail sticking out of the wood. 

Mr Fink coughed to cover up his nephew's mistake, and waited for the signal to carry on talking. It came when the Foreman nodded once. 

"We've managed to arrest 10 more kids from...uhhh...Brent, Tower Hamlets and Southwark." 

"Poor kids..." Joey whispered again, shaking his head slightly. He thought he kept his voice quiet enough, but not quite. 

Mr Fink turned around, saw Dan cuff his brother on the back of the head, then cleared his throat again and turned back to the Foreman, anger blazing in his eyes. 

He was a hair's breadth away from losing his temper and he always had a very short fuse...especially after a few drinks. 

He kept his anger down and kept talking. "We've decided to take you up on your offer." 

The Foreman raised his eyebrows expectantly. 

"We're going to get the Barnes' kid. Today. Even if it's the last thing we do on this earth. The kid for 20 pounds." 

Joey scoffed. He remembered the rules a fraction of a second late. 

"Have you got something to say to me?" The Foreman lifted his chin slightly, and his foot stopped tapping. 

The boy stayed silent. 

"Well? Speak up!" 

"I just..." He looked over at his brother. He could see it in Dan's eyes. 

The message: _'Don't do this Joey!'_

"I just...think we've got enough kids now...I don't see why we have to...keep...hurting them..." The Foreman stood up, his chest swelling. "They're just kids!" 

The man walked around his desk, his steel-toed boots falling heavily on the floor. He came to a halt in front of Joey. He towered above the boy and he wished he'd stayed silent. 

No one in the office dared to even breathe. 

You could almost hear Joey's heart pounding in his chest. 

"Joey." The Foreman rumbled in a low, threatening voice. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Either you find a way to keep arresting those kids...or you find a way to get out of a sack at the bottom of the Thames." 

"Yes, sir." He swallowed, despite the dry feeling in his mouth, and rubbed his hands together behind his back. 

The Foreman stepped away and Mr Fink lunged forwards. 

Dan had to dive out of the way as quickly as he could so that he could dodge the backhand slap that inevitably found its mark on Joey's cheek. 

The boy cried out and was reminded of his place. 

"Get out. Your uncle and I need to have a little chat." 

Dan and Joey left the office as quickly as they could and Joey's eyes pricked with tears. His brother stormed off down the corridor, but Joey stood outside the office. One tear streaked down his red cheek and he wiped it away. 

"Hey. Come on! You wanna be here when they get out of there?" Dan called from the end of the hallway. 

Joey shook his head and ran down the hallway. He got to the end and Dan put an arm around his shoulders. 

"Why did you speak up, Joe?" 

"I don't know...Those kids don't deserve what we're giving them." 

"I know." Dan sighed. "But we're too young to do anything about it. We're basically nothing to them." 

"Come on! You're 19! That's old enough to do...I don't know...something!" 

"Yeah, but..." 

"But what?" Joey stopped on the bottom of the 3 steps of the workhouse entrance. 

"You're still to young to move out," Dan replied from the top. 

"I'm 17! That was old enough for mum to have you! Why can't we just---" 

"Yeah, well mum's not here anymore!" Dan all but yelled. 

Joey took a sharp breath in and tears reformed in his eyes. He tried to blink them away, but images... _horrific_ images...of their mum flashed before him. 

"I'm sorry. Look, we can't do anything about it. Let's just get one more and be done with it." Dan shook his head and looked down. He scuffed his foot on the floor. 

"Ok. I'm sorry." 

"It's ok." 

**~ In the office ~**

"My client in New York is expecting another delivery within the next month." The Foreman sat back behind his desk. He span around and glared down at the city through his window. 

Behind him, Mr Fink fidgeted with his hat. "And they will get it." He assured nervously. 

The Foreman nodded. 

"Sir...The Mayor is getting suspicious of your...dealings and agreements." 

"Don't use large words, Fink. You only sound stupid." 

"Did you hear me, sir? The Mayor wasn't born yesterday. He's noticing things." 

"Let him." The Foreman commented nonchalantly. 

"You're not gonna do anything about it? About him?" 

"The deals between myself and my client will be closed within the next 2 months. Let him investigate. I shall be destroying any and all evidence tying myself to anything remotely deviant." He rose from his chair. "I won't need to do anything about him." 

**~ Back with Cat and Tommy Boy ~**

The coins jingled in my pockets when I jumped down from my box and counted how many papers I had left. 

_'21 left...'_

I put my free hand into my left pocket and rhythmically ran my thumb over one of the coins, the cold metal groundin' me. Through the day, I had become easier and easier to scare, which was growin' increasingly annoyin' since I was also zonin' out easier. 

I put my remainin' papers on the box I'd just jumped off and lowered my head. I rubbed the back of my neck with my right hand. 

I tipped my head all the way back since there weren't any people around yet. I had about 5 minutes before the dock workers swapped their shifts. 

I looked around and saw Tommy Boy about 30 feet away, near the union office and the pub. He called over to me and I waved back half-heartedly. He wasn't smiling. Neither was I. 

I needed a break. I needed to sit down. 

I shoved my papers off the box, not carin' if they flew away, and sat down. I had enough money for the day anyway... 

5 minutes. That's all I need. 

I took a couple of deep breaths in and before I knew it, the clock on the front of the union office tolled out 12 times and a hoard of men came floodin' up from the lower platforms of the docks. 

I stood up again and was immediately lost in the sea of men. I scrambled around to salvage some of my papers. 

_'Why the fuck did I push them off the box? I'm so stupid! That was the worst thing I could possibly have done...'_

I managed to save about 10 and sold them as quickly as I could. 

"Cheers girly!" 

"Thanks." 

"Just chuck it 'ere!" A few of the men shouted to me. 

A few coins fell out of my hand when I sold the last of my papers. I was strugglin' to hold them. The workers had been quite generous today. 

I dropped to my knees to pick them up, but when I came back up, a hand closed over my mouth and I was dragged backwards. 

No one noticed. 

No one noticed because the crowd of men for the next dock shift was weavin' their way through the clusters of men from the previous shift and no one could see me anyway. 

I was dragged backwards until I was thrown to the ground. I crashed into some metal bins and I figured out where I was. 

I was in the side alley of the Hook and Tackle pub. I then realised who took me there. 

Dan and Joey Jordan. 

I scrambled to my feet and ripped my knife out of my waistband. I gripped it tight as I looked from one brother to the other. 

"What do you want?" I asked. I knew exactly what they were doing. They had come to take me to the Workhouse. 

"Please just come with us." Dan replied, not answerin' my question. 

"We don't wanna hurt you." Joey rubbed his arm slowly. 

I jerked my head in Joey's direction. "Nice shiner." Pointin' out the bruise on Joey's right eye. 

He clenched his jaw slightly and took half a step back. 

"I'm not comin' with you." I turned back to Dan. 

"You don't understand. We have to do this...They'll kill us if we don't." 

"Not my problem." 

"If you don't let us take you...they'll kill you anyway." Joey looked at me, pleadin' with his eyes. 

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could get anythin' out, Tommy came sprintin' around the corner into the alley with brass knuckles on his fist. 

"Get away from her!" 

"Tommy wait---" He punched Joey hard in the jaw and he went down to the ground. He spat out some blood while I was frozen in place. 

Tommy aimed a punch at Dan's head, but he dodged and managed to get Tommy into a headlock. 

"Get off him! Please!" I cried as he struggled against the much stronger 19-year-old. 

"Come with us!" 

No!" Dan sighed and nodded to Joey who had got to his feet by that time. 

With remorse in his eyes, Joey punched Tommy on the side of his head and he went limp. Dan let go of him and he crumpled on the ground./p>

Tommy." I choked out. I knelt down next to him and looked up at the two men standin' above me. 

"I can't go. My newsies...I can't go. Please don't." I begged. 

The last thing I saw was Dan Jordan's foot rapidly fallin' towards my head. 

My body slumped over Tommy's and we were both carried to the Workhouse van waitin' for us. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you enjoying the story so far? Please leave kudos and comment! Have an awesome day!


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you can figure out what Cat's shirt number means/represents, you get a cookie!
> 
> New Words: Twigged - Realised
> 
> TW: Swearing, head injury, blood, mentions of a dog attack

When I woke up, I saw Tommy Boy above me. My head was poundin' and I heard the sound of what I recognised as metal wheels on cobblestones. I also heard the clink of metal chains...and shouts from...somewhere.

I lifted my head as high as I dared, but when I realised where we were, I sat up fully.

"Shit!" My hands flew to my head when I felt blood trickin' down past my right eye. It then registered what the clinkin' sound was.

My hands were cuffed together. So were Tommy's. We were in the back of the Workhouse van.

**~ Meanwhile in The Foreman's office ~**

Smoke filled the room as the Foreman stood over the fireplace in his office. With a stack of papers in his hand, he dropped them into the open fire and smiled maniacally.

Mr Fink was, once again, clutching his hat. Dan and Joey standing slightly behind him.

"We've got the Barnes' kid, Mr Foreman, sir." Mr Fink stated proudly, his head slightly higher than before. Joey scoffed and shook his head in disappointment and shame, disappointment and shame in both his uncle's pride and at the fact that he let himself hurt more kids.

Fortunately, the Foreman didn't notice. He was too caught up in protecting himself, by burning the papers.

"Finally." The Foreman dumped the rest of the papers in the fire and went around the back of his desk, taking a key off a rack on the wall as he went. He unlocked a drawer in his desk and took out 20 pounds in notes. He handed them to Mr Fink and went back to burning the papers.

"So, what are you going to do with the kids when the Mayor comes for the inspection, sir?"

"What inspection?" The Foreman whirled around to face Fink.

"The Mayor has scheduled inspections of all the Workhouses in the city. He twigged what was going on and my friend in his staff has told me when ours is. I'm sorry, it must've slipped my mind, sir."

"And when is it?" The Foreman demanded.

"A week today. Meaning we have 6 days to get this place sorted out. Have you thought about what you're going to do with the kids until then?"

"Of course I have! I'm going to get the Orderlies to put them to work. The boys will be working in the vegetable gardens or they will be making the toys that we'll be selling to Mr Chaplin at Prescott Industries and Trading. The girls will be cleaning, doing laundry or making the dresses we will also be selling to Prescott."

"What about the Barnes' kid?" Dan interjected. The Foreman shot him a look but didn't scold him.

"I might give her to you to deal with. I know you three have, or had, a dispute with her parents. And since her parents are at the bottom of the Thames, I'm assuming you're taking up the dispute with her."

At the mention of Cat's parents, Joey felt anger rising from deep within himself. He usually had quite a good grip of his emotions, or he did before all this started. However, if he did see the Barnes' kid, he doubted that he would be able to contain himself.

He clenched his jaw and gripped his hands behind his back, anger burning inside of him, constantly threatening to burst out.

"Wait a second...What if when the kids speak up when the Mayor comes around?" Fink was starting to panic. It was a problem that they had never encountered before or accounted for. "We're going to have to get the kids out as soon as possible. And what about when he asks to see your admin papers?"

"You idiot! There is no need to rush this. No need to panic. We can just set them to work like I said and make them clean this shit-hole. We can also threaten to put them in solitary if they speak up. That way they won't talk and the Mayor won't get suspicious."

**~ Back with Cat and Tommy in the Workhouse Van ~**

The van pulled to a stop and I stood up carefully.

"Do you think we're there?"

Tommy opened his mouth, but when we heard heavy chains rattlin' and the screechin' sound of a set of gates opening, he kept quiet.

The van started movin' again but it only pulled forward a few feet, I sat back down on the floor again next to Tommy. Just inside the gate. We heard them close again, then more men and more voices came from the outside.

Suddenly, the padlock on the outside of the door was unlocked and we were greeted by the sight of three men in uniforms. The Workhouse orderlies.

Once the door was open, one of them came up the steps and grabbed my arm.

"Ow!" The man gripped my arm so hard, I thought it would bruise. He shoved me down the steps and a different orderly took me from him.

Then the man got Tommy Boy and we were marched into the Workhouse.

We were pushed through the door and down a long corridor with wooden doors leadin' to other rooms comin' off both sides.

At the end of the corridor, Mr Fink was sittin' behind a wooden table, with a short stack of papers, an ink well, a pen, and a pile of folded grey workhouse shirts in front of him. Dan and Joey stood at either side. All three of them looked so angry, I had a feelin' that my life here would be even more miserable. Not that I would be here long, I was already tryin' to figure out a way to escape.

We came to a stop in a few feet away from the table, standin' side by side.

"I'll register the girl first," Fink ordered and I was pushed forward.

"So this is where you guys have been! We missed you this morning!" I said, puttin' as much confidence and bravado into my voice as I could to mask the fact that I was terrified.

"Name." Fink kept his voice level, despite the fact I could practically feel the anger radiatin' from him.

"Cat," I responded. There was no way I wanted to tell him my real name. He probably knew it anyway...

" _Real_ name." He demanded.

"Caitlin Barnes." I said reluctantly. I sighed as he wrote it down on one of the sheets of paper.

"Age and birthday."

"15. October 8th 1884."

"Take a shirt." I took the shirt on the top of the pile and it unfolded in my hands, which were still cuffed. I looked at it as I was moved out of the way for Tommy to be registered.

There was an 8-digit number on the left breast side. The number was: **27049923**. I was tryin' to figure out what it meant and I was goin' to try and ask Tommy, but we were escorted away from each other and into separate rooms to get changed.

Luckily, one of the orderlies uncuffed us both so we could change our shirts. I rubbed my wrists then stripped off my shirt and swapped it for the rough workhouse shirt.

I checked my arm in the process and scoffed when I saw the large bruise formin' on my upper arm. I prodded it gently and it ached slightly. I'd taken more pain than this, it was less painful, more inconvenient...

When I got the shirt on, it hung loosely around my body. It fell down to just past my hips and the sleeves reached half way down my arms, to my elbows.

It was rougher than sandpaper and it itched all over. At least it was relatively clean...

A few minutes later a woman in a brown dress and white apron came into the room.

"Come with me." She said and turned around to walk out again. I followed her silently down corridor after corridor. On the way, we passed countless rooms. Some of them looked like classrooms, others looked like work rooms, and others looked like cells...

Then I remembered that Tommy was taken a different way from me and I needed to know where he was.

"Hey, where's Tommy Boy?" I asked her as we walked.

"Who?"

"The boy that came in at the same time as me."

"Oh, him. He'll be with the boys either in the gardens or one of the workrooms. You'll see him at dinner though."

I nodded and she stopped walking. I almost knocked into her, but I stopped just in time.

I looked up at the door in front of her. The laundry room.

"Laundry? Why are we here?" I asked.

"You're going to be doing laundry for the rest of the day. There's already a girl in there so she can teach you how to do it." She opened the door and signalled for me to go in.

I stepped into the laundry room and I turned back when she closed the door behind me. I looked around, takin' it all in. It was a huge room with white washed walls. There were various not-quite-machine things that I recognised from the laundry room in the Lodging House. There were also 5 tables and clothes racks for drying. The room smelled of soap and damp. I couldn't believe that I would be spendin' the rest of the day here.

"Hey, new girl." Someone said from the other side of the room. "I'm Ida." I faced her and looked her up and down. I was really out of my depth here...

"I'm...I'm Cat," I replied. I stared at her for a second. "You look familiar." She was wearin' a brown dress quite similar to the nurse's except it was smaller and it had a number on the same side as mine, the left breast side. I looked at the number and saw that it was different from mine. It was: **21049903**.

"I get that a lot." She walked over to me and took my hand. She led me over to the massive pile of laundry on one of the five tables in the huge laundry room.

"Right." She started pickin' up various pieces of clothin' and handin' them to me. "We've got to sort these into piles. Boy and girls. Then into shirts, trousers and dresses in the girls' pile. Then wash and dry them. Got that?"

"What? I'm sorry, I'm...I'm n-not really with it..." I stuttered, still starin' at her.

"That's ok. It's only your first day here, and the workhouse ain't exactly the easiest place to get used to."

She explained what we had to do again and then I realised who she was.

"Ida!"

"Yes?" She looked up from the pile of girls clothes on her side of the table.

"Ida Buckley. From Brent?"

"Yeah...yeah, that's me." She hung her head in disappointment. "I thought you wouldn't recognise me in here."

She looked back up at me and ran her hands through her shoulder-length hair.

"What?"

"I thought you wouldn't recognise me in here. In this stupid dress."

"Oh. Why?" I asked.

"Because I thought Angel would've sent a message to you to tell you..."

"Why would Angel...we're not allies...we're more like enemies, to be honest." Angel was my ex-girlfriend and she was the complete opposite of her name.

"Well, you've recognised me now, and we have a job to do. Can we just get back to doin' this? Please?" I nodded, confused. "Thank you."

I turned back to my pile and thought through that whole conversation. I couldn't make head nor tail of it but just figured that she didn't want to talk about it, so I wouldn't bring it up.

Neither of us spoke.

The rest of the day passed pretty quickly once I fully got into it. It was borin' and repetitive, and my hands were sore from doin' the same thing over and over again.

Once it was time for dinner a nurse came and knocked on the door and opened it.

"Time for dinner. Follow me." She led me down a couple of corridors to a massive room with 4 long tables and what felt and sounded like thousands of men, women and children.

Some people were waitin' in line to get food, and others were already sat down eating.

"Cat! Cat!" I heard someone yell over the clamour. I turned around to find whoever shouted and noticed that Ida had walked off.

I heard a couple of sets of footsteps behind me and span around just in time to be hug-tackled by 3 people.

I pulled out of the hug and saw who it was.

"Tommy! Smalls! Fletcher!" I looked behind them, over their shoulders. "Robin? Roger?"

I walked over to them, weavin' around people to get to them.

"Are you guys ok? What happened? How did you end up in here?" I noticed somethin' was up with Robin, well, apart from bein' arrested and stuck in the Workhouse, somethin' else was botherin' her.

"It's your fault we're all in here, Cat." She spat at me. "None of us wouldn't be in here if it wasn't for you and we're probably going to die in here as well."

"No! We're not goin' to die in here. We'll be fine." I tried to reassure her as best I could, but she wasn't havin' it.

"No, we're not! We're not going to be fine! The Jordan Brothers and The Foreman are going to be on us like a rash! They're going to kill us in here!" She stepped forward and pushed the others aside. She looked up at me with pure hatred in her eyes. I had never seen her like this before...

"Why are you bein' like this now, Robin? Like it or not, we're all stuck in here. And if we want to stay alive we need to fuckin' work together and maybe, oh I don't know, not kill each other!!" My voice got louder and louder as I spoke, but I didn't care if people heard me.

I didn't need to worry about that anyway. The room was loud enough as it was, we were just addin' to it. And it wasn't like anyone around us actually cared...

"Why am I bein' like this now?" She repeated furiously. She took a step forward and got right in my face, pure fury threatenin' to overpower any rational part left in her.

We stood there, literally toe to toe, and in a low voice, she snarled at me, "It's your fault we're all in here. If you had told us...If you had told us about what was happening, we would've been able to protect ourselves. Hell, I would've been able to kill the fuckin' dog that the Jordan's brought with them to get me."

Tears began to form in her eyes and she tried to blink them away, but they always came back.

Again and again and again.

I concentrated as hard as I could to keep my emotions in check and to not let my anger break out of me. This wasn't like Robin. She wasn't usually like this.

"Robin. Calm down. We're goin' to stick together and protect each other as much as we can in this place. We're goin' to need to trust each other---" She shoved me backwards and I almost completely lost it.

"Trust each other??" She yelled at me. "I can't trust you any more Cat! To be honest, I haven't been able to trust you since your parents were found at the bottom of the river!!" Her chest rose and fell heavily. A couple of tears escaped and she wiped them away.

When she raised her arm to wipe her tears, I noticed the red marks on her arm. They looked...like...teeth marks...She'd been bitten.

"Don't you dare even think about them," I growled, ballin' my fists. "I'm not like them. I never have been and I never will be. I'm not a fuckin' murderer." I took deep, rapid breaths, which I then attempted to even out.

By the time Robin responded, Fletcher had put his hand on her chest to stop her from attackin' me. I'd thought that she'd calmed down slightly, but no...Her eyes still burned. This was a different kind of anger than before. This was cold, calm and subtle, yet still dangerous and unpredictable...

"No. You're not a murderer. Not directly. But you've already killed us in here."

Her words hit like a punch to the gut and she walked away, still fuming. At least she walked away.

"Cat?" Tommy said gently.

"I'm fine guys. Robin's right. I have killed you all by not tellin' you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I hung my head and raked my hands through my hair, not carin' about the cut on my forehead.

"I get it if you don't forgive me," I mumbled. Then, I looked back up at them. "I wouldn't forgive me either."

"No." 

I lowered my head again. 

"Don't say that. You're the one that's right about all this." Tommy put an arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah...We've all got to stick together." Smalls put in.

"We've got to trust each other." Roger stepped forward into the group.

"If we want to stay alive, we have to fight for it. We have to keep thinking about all the people that are waiting for us outside, and remember that they're still gonna be there when we get out."

Fletcher nodded at us and we all made a silent vow to protect one another. To go through thick and thin and come out still standing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm actually really proud of this chapter! Have a swell day and please leave kudos/comment!


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. This chapter will be upsetting, reader discretion is advised.
> 
> For the love of God, look at the TW's
> 
> New Words: Skivvy - A maid
> 
> TW: Major Character Death, Blood, Stabbing, Swearing, Brief Mentions of Vomit, Overcrowded Sleeping Area

Every day was the same in the Workhouse. Wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, clean the kitchens and be a skivvy for the mean, old cook. Then eat lunch and back to work in the laundry room. Some days, I would be with Ida and other days it was a girl named Freya.

Get up. Breakfast. Work. Lunch. Work. Dinner. Sleep. Repeat. Every day.

While who I was workin' with was never consistent, one thing was...At the end of every day, my body ached and my hands were painful and cracked. It was back breakin' work, haulin' huge baskets of clean and dirty laundry around the Workhouse.

Every night, I was exhausted when I got back to the dormitory we shared with the boys. And by dormitory, I mean a dusty, dirty, overcrowded attic with a bucket at each end, a lock on the door, and no room for privacy or personal space. It was hell.

The attic reeked of sweat, vomit, anxiety and fear. There were a couple of tiny windows, but they had bars on them. If they didn't, I would've escaped with my friends by now.

I couldn't bear it anymore. I couldn't bear doin' the same menial, laborious tasks all day, every day. I couldn't bear bein' away from my friends and not bein' able to protect them.

I'd been there for a week and all the time I was tryin' to figure out how to get out. I was goin' to go to the police. I knew the Workhouses were crooked, I just needed proof.

So, one night, I got up off the floor I was tryin' to sleep on and crept over to the door, keepin' close to the floor. I had memorised all the creaky floorboards so I wouldn't wake anyone up.

I slipped my makeshift lock pickin' tools out of my trouser pocket and picked the lock as fast as I could, despite how much my hands hurt.

I tip-toed down the stairs and snuck down the dark corridor towards The Foreman's office.

I thought I got out without anyone knowing, but I was wrong. Someone followed me. They followed me down the steps. They followed me down the corridor. They always stayed 15 paces behind me.

They thought I didn't know.

So, when I came to a corner, I went around it and immediately pressed my back up against the wall. I forced my breathin' to slow down, but my muscles were still tense. It's like they were waitin' for a fight.

I heard their light footsteps come down the hallway. I felt the vibrations through the floor. I saw their shadow on the wall in front of me. It was cast from behind them from a dimly lit lantern on a sideboard we'd passed.

I clenched my fists and when they came around the corner, I jumped them. I forced them down on to one knee, got them into a headlock and heard them growl me to get off. Then I realised who it was.

"Fletcher?" I whispered, releasin' him. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"What the fuck am I doing? What the fuck are you doing? You're the one sneaking around in the dark!" He rubbed his neck and I apologised.

"I'm tryin' to find out what's goin' on and why..." I took a deep breath in as quietly as I could. "Just...just go back to the dorm...attic and for god's sake, stay out of this!"

"No. I'm staying here." He hissed back.

"Why? This is dangerous and I don't want you to get the punishment if I get caught. Like it or not, I'm goin' to find out what's goin' on, so you can go back to the dorm and stay out of trouble."

"How many times do I have to say no!?" He implored.

I let out a frustrated growl and clenched my jaw so I didn't do anythin' I would regret. I knew he would beat me in a fight if it came to it...

To be 100% sure I wouldn't so anythin' stupid...more stupid...I turned away from him and walked to The Foreman's office.

I heard him follow me and at the last moment, I whirled around and punched him in the jaw.

"Ow!" He cried out. "Shit..." He scolded himself for shoutin' and put a hand out to steady himself. His vision went blurry and sharp pain shot up his face.

"God, I hope no one heard that..." He whispered.

In the time it took him to recover, I ran away and knelt down to the lock on the office door. I picked the lock as fast as I could and opened the door.

"Woah..."

The office was a lot grander than I'd imagined. The desk in the centre had little gold details and so did the fireplace on one end of the room.

"Cat!" I heard Fletcher behind me.

I ignored him and walked to the desk, searchin' for any papers that might prove what was goin' on. Anythin' that might help. Anythin' at all.

**~ Meanwhile ~**

Mr Jenkins charged through the Workhouse, with two more orderlies and the Jordan brothers following behind him. There were on their way to The Foreman's office after receiving news from a nurse that two kids had broken into his office.

"Hey, Dan," Joey whispered to his brother.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Maybe we should go and warn the kids. Cat's probably one of them and she doesn't deserve what's coming."

"And what do you think they'll do to us if they catch us helping them? Plus her parents killed our parents and the police did nothing about it. I think we have an obligation."

"What?! Do you hear yourself?" Joey stopped dead in the corridor and when Dan realised, he stopped too.

Dan sighed and rolled his eyes impatiently, hooking his thumbs into his belt. "Look, I've been thinking a lot lately--"

"Well, obviously not," Joey interjected.

"I've been thinking a lot lately and I think that we're entitled to a little bit of revenge. Don't you?"

"No!" Joey had no idea why his brother would say such a thing. "No, of course not! Why are you saying this?"

"I just think that she deserves to feel the same pain we did...the same pain our father knew..." Dan ranted. Joey looked into his brothers' eyes and was terrified of what he saw. He saw pain, hatred, madness and...and fear...

"No! We cannot---" Joey started.

"You two! Hurry up." Mr Jenkins ordered from the end of the corridor.

**~ Back in the Foreman's office with Cat and Fletcher ~**

"Cat...please let's just go," Fletcher begged.

I didn't listen to him and kept searchin' through the desk, until...

"Hey, I've found something," I said, holdin' up a small, dark grey, metal key. "Where would it fit though? What does it unlock?"

"I don't know..."

"Well, we'd better get looking!" At my words, both of us got to searchin' the rest of the office, Fletcher takin' the left side, me takin' the desk and the right.

A few minutes later, I heard footsteps in the corridor outside the office and my searchin' got more and more rushed.

"Hey Fletcher, can you keep watch at the door? I think I can hear someone coming..." I asked, prayin' he'd say yes.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, then agreeing.

"Thank you, so much. I really owe you one." He nodded and went to the door, openin' it just a bit and peerin' out.

I kept searchin' until I noticed a small paintin' on the wall. I hurried over to it and saw that it was on hinges.

"Cat! I can hear footsteps coming. Hurry up." Fletcher's voice grew more and more panicked as he whispered from the door.

I pried it open and gasped when I saw the safe in the wall behind.

I inserted the key into the lock and smiled when it turned. I opened the door and leafed through the papers for somethin' incriminating.

"Got it!" I said when I found what looked like the only papers the Foreman hadn't got rid of.

"Cat! Cat! Come on. They've just come around the corner..." Fletcher ran to me and grabbed my wrist. He pulled me out of the office and we went to run down the corridor.

"You! Stop!" A white-uniformed orderly shouted at us. There were two angry orderlies at the end of the corridor, blockin' our escape.

We froze.

"Shit."

"What do you think you're doing with those papers?" The orderly demanded.

"Uhhhh..." For once, I was at a complete loss for words. I scrambled to find words to explain what we were doing, but my mind was racin' too fast for me to grab anything.

"Well? Answer." Someone behind us said.

We span around and saw Mr Jenkins, Dan and Joey Jordan blockin' the other end of the corridor.

I looked at Fletcher to see if he had an answer.

Nothin' came.

_'We are so fucked.'_ I thought.

"Why have you got those?" Dan stormed up to me, pure rage in his eyes. When I still didn't answer, he planted his hands on my chest and shoved me back as hard as he could.

I fell to the floor and pain shot through my entire body.

"Ahh!" I cried out. "Bloody hell!"

"Get off me!" Dan shouted when Fletcher jumped him, punchin' and kickin' as hard as he could.

He was pulled off by the two orderlies who were originally blockin' our escape. They grabbed him and twisted his arms behind his back, Dan not sparin' anythin' as he punched Fletcher.

I stood up, ignorin' the pain and started to go and help Fletcher, but before I could get to him, Joey stepped in front of me.

"Move Joey," I said, pain and adrenaline coursin' through my body. My voice shook slightly.

"No." He replied defiantly. "I don't want to hurt you Cat, but I love my brother and he comes first. I have to protect him, that's all he's ever done for me. I owe it to him."

I sighed, my insides churning. I pulled my arm back, balled my fists and punched him in the stomach as hard as I could.

He must've been expectin' the move because at the moment of impact he twisted and grabbed my arm. He punched me in the face and knocked me backwards.

I clenched my teeth as he punched me and, as I went down, I swung my leg out underneath him. He fell like a sack of potatoes and I grunted as I got on top of him to keep him down.

I sent punch after punch into his stomach and face and my fierce concentration didn't waver until his face was bloody.

Then I heard the knife.

The **_zing_** as it was unsheathed.

The grunts from the man who wielded it.

The cries from the boy it was plunged into.

"Fletcher!" I cried out, turnin' away from Joey.

I looked over, tryin' to find Fletcher, but my view of him was blocked by Dan.

Dan had his back to me and Fletcher was still bein' restrained by the two orderlies, but I saw his legs go weak and he cried out, over and over and over again.

I felt tears buildin' up at each pained yelp.

Suddenly, Joey's fist connected with the side of my head and my vision went dark.

I slumped to the floor and shook my head in an attempt to regain my vision. I lay on my back, my bloody and bruised hands coverin' my eyes, seein' stars.

Someone stamped on my ribs a couple of times and I swore I felt somethin' crack.

I couldn't fight back when I felt the papers I'd tried so hard to get were ripped from my grasp.

"No." I croaked out, my ribs were sore and popped when I breathed.

I coughed a couple of times and rolled over when I thought I would be able to stand again.

The heavy boot that pressed onto my back, pushed me down into the rough wooden floor and kept me there.

"Stay down." Dan's voice growled from somewhere above me.

I tried to push against the boot, but I couldn't.

I was weak from the fight and when I saw Fletcher fall to his knees beside me, I froze again.

"Fletch?" I whispered.

He clutched his stomach and I saw blood plumin' from a few places on his body.

His eyes were full of fear and pain and horror and when he keeled forwards the weight on my back eased off.

There was so much blood poolin' around him.

Too much blood.

I shuffled over to him and shook him.

_'Please be alive. Don't die on me. Please!'_

My thoughts became frantic and my heart pounded so hard I thought it was goin' to burst out of me.

He didn't move.

So, I grabbed him and usin' what little energy I had left, I managed to turn him over.

"Oh, God!" Tears started fallin' down my face when I really saw how much blood there was. I pressed my ear to his bloody chest and somehow heard a weak heartbeat.

I pushed myself up and crawled around to cradle his head and upper body in my lap.

My hands shook and my breath caught in my throat as I pushed his hair away from his eyes.

Vomit threatened to come up, but I forced it back down.

"Cat?" Fletcher said, his voice weak and strained.

"Fletcher? Fletcher, I'm here. I'm so sorry." I said, the tears streamin' down my face becomin' uncontrollable.

"It's alright Cat." He was worryingly calm. "Just promise me one thing? Please?"

"Yes, of course. Anything." I choked out.

"If you get out, if you survive...can you tell Alice I love her? Please?"

It was those words that broke me. I couldn't answer.

I bowed my head over his body.

All I could do was nod.

"Thank you."

_'I've failed you, Fletcher. I promised I'd protect you! It's all my fault. I'm so sorry.'_

As the true reality of the situation fully washed over him, Fletcher began to cry.

He trembled like a leaf and his eyes widened in terror.

He started to hyperventilate, but every time he breathed, more blood poured out of his chest and stomach.

We were both covered in his scarlet blood and it seeped through the floorboards.

It would never come out.

It would serve as a constant reminder of the horrors they were all witnessing.

It covered our hands, soaked into our shirts and my loose hair trailed in it.

"Cat! Cat, I don't want to die! Help! I don't want to die! Please!" He pleaded, flinchin' at every breath.

"I'm so sorry Fletcher. I told you to go back." My voice cracked and he grabbed my hand.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

I knew what he wanted to say.

"I promise I'll tell Alice you love her. I promise."

"Cat. I don't want to die...I want to stay...I can't! I was going to...I don't want to---"

Fletcher sighed his last breath.

His body went limp.

His eyes closed for the last time.

He died.

My scream echoed through the entire workhouse.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise it won't get worse than this and for the love of god, look at the triggers. Reader discretion is advised
> 
> TW: Major Character Death, Blood, Screaming, Grief, Solitary Confinement, Mental Breakdown, Planned Murder, Hallucinations, Mentions of Deportation
> 
> New Words: /

"Fletcher?" I whispered.

_'Please...'_

I shook his limp body.

"Fletcher?" My voice rose. "Fletcher?! No! Don't be...Fletcher wake up!"

I shook him again.

_'No.'_

I screamed.

_'No.'_

I screamed again.

_'No!'_

I screamed until my throat was raw.

Tears streamed down my face, but I didn't have the energy to wipe them away.

_'I've failed you.'_

They fell and mixed into his blood.

It dripped off his body, pooled on the floor and seeped into the floorboards.

_'This is all my fault.'_

"I told you to go back," I whispered.

I bowed my head over his cold body.

I heard heavy footsteps come towards me, but I didn't care.

All I cared about was Fletch.

_'I'm so sorry.'_

A pair of hands grabbed me, but I resisted when they tried to pull me up.

"No!" I screamed. "Get off me!"

They didn't get off me.

_'If only he'd gone back.'_

They tried to pull me up again, and this time they succeeded.

I didn't even know who it was.

Fletcher's body got further and further away from me, but the image would be forever burned into my memories.

_'If only he'd listened to me.'_

"Let go of me!" I shrieked.

"Take her down to the basement." I heard someone say.

I lifted my head and when I saw the Foreman, my blood boiled.

"You!" I yelled, hoarsely.

_'You're a monster!'_

"Me." He replied, dangerously calm.

"I'm gonna kill you!" I screamed again, strugglin' in the grip of the people restrainin' me.

I thrashed around, kickin' and fightin' to move my arms.

Then I felt the cold metal of handcuffs on my wrists.

That didn't stop me.

The Foreman walked towards me and punched me so hard I stopped fighting.

I hung my head, dazed.

"You kill me, and you will be just like your parents." He said in a low growl.

_'I'm the monster.'_

"Get her down there now." He ordered.

I let my legs go limp as the men dragged me through the workhouse and down, down, down into the basement.

I'd never been down here before, but I had a feelin' I would be here for a long time.

They dragged me through a corridor, my feet trailin' behind me and scrapin' on the floor.

They stopped in front of a heavy, metal door and opened it.

"No...please...don't put me in there..." I pleaded weakly.

I felt the cuffs bein' taken off.

"Please..." I cried.

They flung me into the cell and slammed the door shut, leavin' me in the dark.

They left me alone with my thoughts.

**~ Meanwhile ~**

"Good work, Dan." The Foreman commended Dan on his work and the man nodded in reply.

"What?" Joey looked to his brother. "This was your plan? You brought a knife to kill them? If you meant to kill Cat, you missed by the way!"

"I didn't miss."

Dan turned to his brother.

"I meant to kill Fletcher."

"Why though?"

"Because she deserves to feel the same pain that we feel every single day. Her family took something from us, so our family has taken something from her."

"You're insane." Joey spat, seething and disgusted at the level his brother was willing to stoop to. "You're fucking insane."

"I'm still your brother, Joe."

"No. You're not." Joey stormed down the hallway and all the way out of the Workhouse.

Dan started to go after him, but the Foreman stopped him.

"No. Stay. I have more work for you."

Dan wiped Fletcher's blood onto his trousers, cleaning the knife.

"Yes, sir."

"Send a message to my contacts on the deportation ship: 'Prepare for another load tonight. You have 2 hours.' "

"Anything else, sir?"

"Do you know which of those bastards are the girls' friends?"

Dan nodded.

"Good. Get them on that ship. We're going to leave the girl in solitary until she's too broken to fight."

"Very well sir." Dan nodded and left the workhouse to inform the captain and crew on the deportation ship of their plans.

**~ Meanwhile ~**

_'You're a monster.'_

_'You should've died instead of Fletcher.'_

_'Fletcher?'_

_'I'm so sorry.'_

_'HE'S DEAD.'_

_**'YOU KILLED HIM.'** _

My shallow breathin' didn't even begin to fill the void of the empty room.

Every thought screeched for attention and all I could do was cover my ears and shake my head.

"No," I whispered.

"Go away."

"Please just go away!"

The sounds of my voice were swallowed up in the silence.

It wasn't like anyone would be able to hear me anyways.

Tears rushed down my face like an unstoppable torrent.

They soaked my face and my shirt.

I cried and cried and cried until I was completely exhausted.

I lay there, in a crumpled heap on the floor, utterly defeated.

"Cat." My head snapped up when I heard a voice call my name.

It came from the darkness.

It sounded like Fletcher.

"Yes? Who are you? Show yourself." I ordered feebly.

I could faintly make out the silhouette of a person, but I couldn't work out who I was seeing.

"Fletcher?!" I said as he stepped forwards.

"That's right. It's me Cat." His voice was soft, calm, reassuring.

He seemed to glow in the dark and with each step he took, that glow got brighter and brighter...but that light didn't fall on my face...

"But you're....you're supposed to be..."

"Don't think about it."

I looked him over and saw that his shirt was clean, his flesh was unbroken and his face was unwounded, but his eyes were still cold and lifeless.

He knelt down next to me and gently stroked my hair.

I didn't sit up. I couldn't.

We stayed like that for what felt like forever, until he leant over me and whispered.

"You know that it's your fault I'm dead, right?"

"What?" I replied, confused.

He stood up and I watched him rise above me.

He'd completely changed.

His shirt and trousers were ripped and torn, just as they had been when he died.

His face was bloody, battered and bruised, just as it had been when he died.

His blood was bloomin' from his chest and stomach like some sort of deadly, yet horrifying flower from the gates of hell...just as there had been when he died.

But his eyes were the worst.

His eyes were alight with such intense wrath that bore through my soul.

"It's all your fault!" He shouted. "It's all your fault I'm dead!"

The glow changed.

It became like the tiny hands of a shadow, reachin' out and coilin' around my body.

It wrapped around me tighter and I watched it snake up to and wrap itself around my neck; I felt it. I felt every little shadow wrap around me and almost squeeze the very life out of me. It hurt. It hurt and I just wanted it to stop.

"I know Fletcher! I know and I'm sorry! Please!" I begged. I didn't even know what I was beggin' for.

"No! That's not good enough!" He bellowed.

I flinched and he rushed up to me.

He fell to his knees and grabbed my chin to force me to look up at him.

"Look at me. Look at what you've done. You are responsible." He said, in a low voice.

Terror flowed through me, but I couldn't do anything.

I knew it was all in my head, but that didn't make it feel any less real.

"You are responsible." He repeated.

He leant back and straightened his back, starin' straight ahead.

He clutched his stomach and I saw blood plumin' from a few places on his body.

His eyes were full of fear and pain and horror and when he keeled forwards his body disintegrated and turned to dust.

The dust settled on me and frantically tried to wipe it off.

I screamed and scrambled away from where I lay.

I huddle into a corner and rocked back and forth, my head restin' on my knees, my arms wrapped around my legs.

I remained like that, rockin', shakin', cryin', until finally, my body gave in to exhaustion and I slumped over onto the floor.

**~ Meanwhile ~**

"You," Dan pointed to an orderly. "Get **27049924** and **25049907**. You," He pointed to the second orderly, "Get **24049901** and **24049915**. Get them ready to go on the ship."

"Yes, Mr Jordan." The orderlies said in unison, before advancing and grabbing the people whose numbers had been read out.

The children struggled as they knew nothing good would come of this.

"Let us go!"

"Get off me!"

"Go away!"

"Help!"

They cried to the other inmates, but none of them moved.

They were scared.

They were _all_ scared.

"Take them to the courtyard and put them in the vans to the docks. Then put them on the ship and lock them down." Dan ordered, taking great pleasure in his new power.

"Yes, Mr Jordan." The orderlies replied, dragging the children down the stairs.

Dan followed them. He locked the door behind him and put the key in his pocket.

_' 'Mr Jordan'. Damn it feels good to be respected.'_

**~ Down in the basement cell ~**

I sat bolt upright, flingin' my arms up over my head and flinchin' away from nothing.

"Go away!" I said.

I didn't even remember what I was dreamin' about, but it can't have been good.

Lookin' around, I momentarily forgot where I was and half expected to see someone lyin' next to me.

I didn't see anyone and when I sighed, I saw my breath in the air and shivered.

The cold bit through my clothes.

_'Its freezin' down here...'_

I wrapped my arms around my freezin' body, shifted further back into the corner and rubbed my arms in a weak attempt to warm up.

It wasn't really working, so I stood up.

My body screamed at me to sit back down, but I needed to move.

I walked around the room three times, but I was basically blind so I felt my way around.

There wasn't anythin' in the room except for me and a bucket for the times I needed to throw up or relieve myself.

No blanket, no candle, no matches, no mattress.

"Great," I muttered sarcastically. "This is just great ain't it."

My eyes were beginnin' to adjust to the darkness and when I could see better, I made my way over to the door.

I looked up and down and ran my hands all over it, tryin' to feel if I could find the lock.

I needed to get out of there.

Bingo.

I felt the lock and went to grab the old lockpicks, the ones I used to get out of the attic and into the office.

They were gone.

"Goddamn it!" I shouted.

My voice reverberated around the cell.

They must've fallen out...

And now I'm stuck in here.

_'Oh god...I'm goin' to go mad in here...'_

**~**

As time went on, I started seein' things more and more. Sometimes I saw Fletcher...just sittin' by himself in the opposite corner of the room.

Other times I saw my parents, pale green, soakin' wet with rope marks on their wrists. They would stand in front of me, not sayin' a word, just starin' at me. They had the burlap sacks they'd drowned in over their shoulders.

As time went on, I felt myself losin' my grip. There was very little in the cell and I couldn't do anythin' about it.

The endless hours of boredom, interspersed with episodes of mindless panic and fear and screamin', took their toll.

As time went on, I realised there was a routine.

I couldn't see the sky, so I didn't know whether it was night or day, but I managed to work out a system.

Once a day, every day, a small tray of food and water was pushed through a small hatch at the base of the door.

It was usually bread, maybe some soup, they gave me some fruit sometimes. There was also water, a candle and 5 matches on the tray.

I used it not just see be able to see, but to feel like there was hope, however small the chances; but I could only think that when I managed to convince myself that I'd be ok.

The warm glow of the fire reminded me of the Lodging House. It reminded me of my friends. It reminded me of my life.

It was the one thing that stopped me from...

I barely felt anythin' anymore.

As the tray came through every day, I counted how many days I'd been stuck in the cell.

21 days.

3 weeks.

"3 WEEKS!!" I screamed in a vicious explosion of anger.

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!" I screamed, my head tilted up to the ceilin' and the rest of the Workhouse.

I hoped that The Foreman could hear me.

"Oh yes, he's very happy now." Someone said behind me.

While I was shoutin' I didn't hear the door open.

I turned around, ignorin' the constant gnawin' in my stomach and the constant fire ragin' in my heart.

"No. Go away!" I said as a couple of orderlies stalked towards me, batons in their hands and cuffs on their belts.

I stumbled back as fast as I could until my back hit the wall. I sank down to the floor, but they just hauled me back up and cuffed my hands behind my back.

I'd forgotten how they'd felt and the cold metal brought back memories I'd tried so hard to block out and forget.

Tears started to fall as images came floodin' back. I tried to get away from the men, but they held me tighter than before.

"No! Please let me go!" I cried.

My legs buckled beneath me and I shook my head, the screamin' inside my head completely overwhelmin' me.

I shook my head again.

"No!"

They started to pull me out of the cell and, if it was at all possible, I started to panic more.

"Where...where are you takin' me? Where are we going?" I asked.

No answer.

"Dan! Where are you takin' me?" I shouted at him.

He kept walking.

No answer.

They walked me through the corridor, past the other cells and to the stairs.

They walked me up the stairs, past the main room, classrooms and laundry room and to the front door.

They walked me out the front door, past the windows I'd stared out of for hours and to the van waitin' for me in the square.

"Get in. Don't fight." Dan whispered to me.

Lowerin' my head, I glanced down to see the knife in his belt. It looked familiar, but not in a good way.

I looked back up and saw a glint in Dan's eyes.

"Yes, that is what you think it is. It's the knife I got when we arrested you. It's also the one that I used to kill Fletcher. So, I'm guessing you know what that means." He said, not givin' me a chance to answer before I was pushed into the van with the door slammed and bolted behind me.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I did know what it meant. It meant I killed Fletcher.

It was my knife.

I took it from the emergency room.

I lost it in the fight.

I let Dan have it.

I killed him.

**~ In Manhattan ~**

Tommy Boy and Smalls sat down on the small sofa in the middle of the room, Jack Kelly sitting on a chair in front of them, a soft smile on his face.

"What do you guys go by?" He asked.

"Smalls."

"Tommy Boy."

They replied with their respective names.

"Hey, I ain't never heard accents like yours before. Where ya from?" Jack asked.

Smalls and Tommy both thought that they hadn't ever heard an accent like his ever before.

"London," Smalls replied.

"Sydney, Australia...Then London...now here." Tommy added.

"That explains it..." Jack muttered. "How come you two's are in New York?"

"Long story. Not worth telling." Smalls stared Jack in the eyes, making it quite clear that they didn't want to tell the story.

Jack got the message loud and clear and didn't press them to say anything more about it.

"Fair enough. Right, we'll get you set up with a bed in the dorm, you can get washed up and there are some spare clothes and boots in the storeroom in the basement." Jack nodded, then got up off the chair.

"Right, thanks," Smalls said.

"Thanks, Jack," Tommy said, nodding back.

"Anytime. Anything you need just ask me or Race, the blond one with the smart mouth and cigar."

"Ok, will do," Tommy replied.

"Oh and, Uhh...Welcome to the Manhattan Newsies."


End file.
